Pope Benedict’s discourse at the Grotto of Saint Paul, Malta
(April 17, 2010) Below is the text of Pope Benedict’s discourse at the Grotto of
Saint Paul, Malta
Dear Archbishop Cremona, Dear Brothers and Sisters, My
pilgrimage to Malta has begun with a moment of silent prayer at the Grotto of Saint
Paul, who first brought the faith to these islands. I have come in the footsteps
of those countless pilgrims down the centuries who have prayed in this holy place,
entrusting themselves, their families and the welfare of this nation to the intercession
of the Apostle of the Gentiles. I rejoice to be at last in your midst and I greet
all of you with great affection in the Lord! Paul’s shipwreck and his three-month
stay in Malta left an indelible mark upon the history of your country. His words
to his companions prior to his arrival in Malta are recorded for us in the Acts of
the Apostles and have been a special theme in your preparation for my visit. Those
words – “Jeħtieg iżda li naslu fi gżira” – in their original context are a summons
to courage in the face of the unknown and to unfailing confidence in God’s mysterious
providence. The castaways were, in fact, warmly welcomed by the Maltese people, following
the lead given by Saint Publius. In God’s plan, Saint Paul thus became your father
in the Christian faith. Thanks to his presence among you, the Gospel of Jesus Christ
took deep root and bore fruit not only in the lives of individuals, families and communities,
but also in the formation of Malta’s national identity and its vibrant and distinctive
culture. Paul’s apostolic labours also bore a rich harvest in the generations of
preachers who followed in his footsteps, and particularly in the great number of priests
and religious who imitated his missionary zeal by leaving Malta in order to bring
the Gospel to distant shores. I am happy to have had the opportunity to meet so many
of them today in this Church of Saint Paul, and to encourage them in their challenging
and often heroic vocation. Dear missionaries: I thank all of you, in the name of
the whole Church, for your witness to the Risen Lord and for your lives spent in the
service of others. Your presence and activity in so many countries of the world brings
honour to your country and testifies to an evangelical impulse deeply embedded in
the Church in Malta. Let us ask the Lord to raise up many more men and women to carry
forward the noble mission of proclaiming the Gospel and working for the advancement
of Christ’s Kingdom in every land and people! Saint Paul’s arrival in Malta was
not planned. As we know, he was travelling to Rome when a violent storm arose and
his ship ran aground on this island. Sailors can map a journey, but God, in his wisdom
and providence, charts a course of his own. Paul, who dramatically encountered the
Risen Lord while on the road to Damascus, knew this well. The course of his life was
suddenly changed; henceforth, for him, to live was Christ (cf. Phil 1:21); his every
thought and action was directed to proclaiming the mystery of the Cross and its message
of God’s reconciling love. That same word, the word of the Gospel, still has
the power to break into our lives and to change their course. Today the same Gospel
which Paul preached continues to summon the people of these islands to conversion,
new life and a future of hope. Standing in your midst as the Successor of the Apostle
Peter, I invite you to hear God’s word afresh, as your ancestors did, and to let it
challenge your ways of thinking and the way you live your lives. From this holy
place where the apostolic preaching first spread throughout these islands, I call
upon each of you to take up the exciting challenge of the new evangelization. Live
out your faith ever more fully with the members of your families, with your friends,
in your neighbourhoods, in the workplace and in the whole fabric of Maltese society.
In a particular way I urge parents, teachers and catechists to speak of your own living
encounter with the Risen Jesus to others, especially the young people who are Malta’s
future. “Faith is strengthened when it is given to others!” (cf. Redemptoris Missio,
2). Believe that your moments of faith assure an encounter with God, who in his mighty
power touches human hearts. In this way, you will introduce the young to the beauty
and richness of the Catholic faith, and offer them a sound catechesis, inviting them
to ever more active participation in the sacramental life of the Church. The world
needs this witness! In the face of so many threats to the sacredness of human life,
and to the dignity of marriage and the family, do not our contemporaries need to be
constantly reminded of the grandeur of our dignity as God’s children and the sublime
vocation we have received in Christ? Does not society need to reappropriate and defend
those fundamental moral truths which remain the foundation of authentic freedom and
genuine progress? Just now, as I stood before this Grotto, I reflected on the
great spiritual gift (cf. Rom 1:11) which Paul gave to Malta, and I prayed that you
might keep unblemished the heritage bequeathed to you by the great Apostle. May the
Lord confirm you and your families in the faith which works through love (cf. Gal
5:6), and make you joyful witnesses to the hope which never disappoints (cf. Rom 5:5).
Christ is risen! He is truly risen! Alleluia!